


early hours

by falloutmars



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, College Roommates, Drabble, F/M, Feelings, First Kiss, Prompt Fic, in which it was meant to be light hearted but turned into late night Feelings, it's not as angsty as i'm making it sound, lowkey pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-28 23:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21400384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutmars/pseuds/falloutmars
Summary: prompt: Person B getting up in the middle of the night to make a snack and accidentally waking up Person A because they didn’t stop the microwaves obnoxious beeping in time.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 8
Kudos: 91





	early hours

_ Beep. Beep. Beep.  _

Betty’s eyes snap open at the sound of... Wait, is that the microwave? 

She fumbles around her bedside table for her phone. When she finds it, she presses the home button. Far too bright light fills her room, forcing her to squint to save her sleepy eyes. 

The time stares back at her. 3:07. 

Who the hell is using the microwave at 3am? 

Ah, that’s right. It’ll be Jughead, Betty’s college roommate. 

Betty was paired up with Jughead in the random roommate selection stage at the start of college only a few months ago. They’re both majoring in creative writing, so they started off on common grounds. Overall, they share a lot of interests and it works well. Both choosing to opt out of parties and social gatherings and preferring to stay in to write or watch classic films, they spend a lot of time together rather than with other people. So they’ve gotten quite close. And recently, Betty may have developed slightly more than friendly feelings for her roommate, but she’s willing to put it down to her lack of any sort of attention, physical or other, since her first and only boyfriend 2 years previous. 

Feelings aside, Betty enjoys living with Jughead. He’s tidy, he’s willing to eat any and all food she makes while stressed and he’s quiet. Well, he usually is.

Apparently not tonight, though. 

With a sigh, Betty struggles out of bed and plods towards their kitchen area. There, she finds Jughead sat on a stool in the dark, slouching over the worktop, with a bag of microwave popcorn open in front of him. He’s staring into space, absentmindedly putting popcorn in his mouth. She doesn’t think he notices her enter. 

“Jug?” she says cautiously. His eyes snap to her, a look of sadness spread over his face. 

“Hey, Betty. I’m sorry about the beeping, I didn’t reach it in time.” He attempts a smile, but it is tainted by his sad look. She shakes her head slightly in response.

Attempting to clear the sleepiness, she rubs her eyes. This allows her to see his figure better, and even in the low light of their kitchen, she can’t help but think that he looks handsome. 

This time of the night, Betty finds, always intensifies her feelings. If she’s up late working on a paper, the early hours make her feel  _ more _ stressed, or if she’s woken up by her rather handsome roommate making popcorn, 3am makes her feelings towards him feel more real than she’d previously admitted to herself. 

A few moments have passed when she realises that Jughead has been staring at her while she was thinking. The same sad looks still covers his face. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” she says, voice filled with concern. “Did something happen?”

He shrugs. “Sometimes, I just wish things could be different.”

His eyes never meet hers. It’s as if he’s too scared to let them, like it would break her or himself. In a way, she’s glad for it. She can’t bring herself to move from her spot in the doorway. 

For the both of them, the darkness that surrounds them is a comfort. The darkness allows their true feelings to be hidden, but only for so long. 

After all, feelings are always intensified in the early hours. 

He continues talking when she doesn’t reply. “All my life I’ve run away from things that scare me. My father’s drinking, my mother leaving. I had good reason to be scared then, but not anymore. Yet still, I’m running.”

Betty feels stuck to the ground. She wants to comfort him; she needs to comfort him. But she can’t seem to move. 

“Juggie,” she manages to whisper, voice unsure. “What are you running from?”

He sighs, face expressionless. Betty worries that she’s crossed a line, that she shouldn’t have asked, but then he answers, eyes still not meeting hers. 

“From my feelings,” he says simply. 

Finally, her legs allow her to move and she walks towards him.

As she reaches him, she’s suddenly unsure of herself once more. 

Tired, cold and confused, she wraps her arms around him. The position is awkward - he’s still sitting down - but his arms find their way around her waist anyway. 

Betty feels him bury his face into her. She squeezes him even tighter and presses a delicate kiss to the top of his head. 

In that moment, Betty knows her feelings aren’t just nothing. This isn’t to do with the lack of attention, or her teenage years. This is real. This is what she wants. 

Mumbled words drag her out of her thoughts and away from his embrace. 

He holds her waist gently and hers rest on his shoulders. Now though, he stares directly into her eyes. The look of sadness has dissipated slightly, replaced with a sprinkle of hope, Betty thinks. 

Remembering he said something she didn’t hear, she gives him a confused look. This earns her a genuine smile, before a serious look takes over once more. He stands up, hands still holding her. She moves hers to cup his face.

“I don’t want to run anymore,” Jughead says softy. 

“Then don’t.”

That’s all the confirmation he needs to lean in and press his lips gently against hers.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this short little fic


End file.
